Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $20.15, but opened at $20.80. Franklin Resources shares last traded at $20.28, with a volume of 477,998 shares trading hands.

The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.76%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 148.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.01. The stock has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.41.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.